Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Radiation Monitoring”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Residual Dose and Environmental Monitoring for the Fermilab Main Injector Tunnel Using the Data Acquisition Logging Engine (Dale)

The Recycler and the Main Injector are part of the Fermilab Accelerator complex used to deliver proton beam to the different experiments. It is very important to control and minimize losses in both machines during operation, to reduce personnel dose from residual activation and to preserve component lifetime. To minimize losses, we need to identify the loss points and adjust the components accordingly. The Data Acquisition Loss Engine (DALE) platform has been developed within the Main Injector department and upgraded throughout the years. DALE is used to survey the entire enclosure for residual dose rates and environmental readings when unrestricted access to the enclosure is possible. Currently DALE has two radiation meters, which are aligned along each machine, so loss points can be identified for both at the same time. DALE attaches to the enclosure carts and is continuously in motion monitoring dose rates and other environmental readings. In this paper we will describe how DALE is used to provide radiation maps of the residual dose rates in the enclosure. We will also compare the loss points with the Beam Loss monitor data.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Initial Radiation of Nuclear Power Plant Components (CRADA NFE-17-06892 Final Report)

As advanced reactor concepts are developed, instrumentation and control (I&C) cables and sensors will play a significant role in assuring their operation is well understood, and safety-related process information can be collected reliably over the course of their design life. As a first step to develop acceptance criteria and define the limits of currently available nuclear I&C cable and sensor technology, a collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Analysis and Measurement Services (AMS) Corporation was initiated under the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) Program. This collaborative effort focused on providing technical information related to the combined thermal and radiation aging of nuclear power plant (NPP) cables, companion NPP cable insulation samples, and two prototype temperature and two pressure sensors. This work was carried out using the instrumented gamma irradiation system that is part of the High Flux Isotope Reactor Gamma Irradiation Facility (HFIR GIF). This system provided the opportunity for the condition of the prototype sensors to be tracked during the irradiation in order to determine their functional limits with greater granularity when compared to a simple irradiation insertion at the HFIRGIF. Experimental assemblies for sensor irradiation were successfully completed, and sensor irradiation to accumulated dose of 3000 kGy at a rate of approximately 6 kGy/hr was carried out. Two prototype temperature assemblies were continuously monitored during exposure to 3000 kGy and found to have no observable degradation from the irradiation. Two pressure sensors were first irradiated to 1000 kGy. At which point, one of the sensors was found to operate normally; however, a second sensor failed the operability test. The operable pressure sensor output was then continuously monitored from 1000 kGy to 3000 kGy. The sensor output exhibited steady trendable drift versus the accumulated radiation dose. At the conclusion of the irradiation, the four test sensors were released for laboratory calibration checks. The calibration check of the temperature sensors found no significant change after irradiation compared to baseline measurements before irradiation; however, both pressure sensors failed the post-test calibration checks and both sensors were not functioning properly. These results will help inform sensor manufacturers and I&C design engineers of potential limitations of these types of sensors for use in high radiation environments associated with the compact configuration of new Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) such as NuScale’s reactor power module. Irradiations on NPP cables and companion samples were not completed due to programmatic delays, however a path forward that was based on lessons learned from this project was defined to accommodate future, comparable instrumented gamma irradiations at the HFIR GIF.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Toward local core outlet temperature monitoring in gas-cooled nuclear reactors using distributed fiber-optic temperature sensors

Gas-cooled nuclear reactors operate at temperatures up to 950 °C with significant spatial variations in power generation and coolant flow through hundreds of parallel flow channels, resulting in complex mixing at the core outlet. The high temperatures and complex mixing can damage downstream components, challenge reactor calorimetry for power determination, and result in significant conservatism in calculated peak fuel temperatures, which ultimately limits the total power output. Directly measuring each gas stream individually is unrealistic using single point thermocouples, requiring more robust sensing techniques. Fiber-optic sensors are resilient to high temperatures (up to 1,000 °C) and radiation damage. Moreover, distributed measurements can be made along the length of one fiber, making them potential candidates for monitoring local core outlet temperatures to improve core calorimetry and identify hot channels. Here, to the authors’ knowledge, this manuscript is the first to report spatially distributed fiber optic temperature measurements to quantify mixing at the outlet of a relevant orifice plate under prototypic temperature and flow regimes to assess the feasibility of using fiber-optic sensors for distributed measurements of coolant temperature in gas-cooled reactors. A single optical fiber captured dynamic changes in local temperatures, whereas the mixed outlet temperature exhibited a muted response and could not identify which channels were responsible for the change in the mixed outlet temperature. The discussion focuses on potential challenges for deploying distributed optical fibers in gas-cooled reactors, including the effects of vibrations, radiation-induced signal attenuation and drift, and routing of the fiber while minimizing flow obstructions.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Additive manufacturing: a challenge to nuclear nonproliferation

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly developing technology that allows industries to automate and simplify the production of highly complicated items. Recently, there are concerns that AM techniques have the potential to be utilized in the fields of nuclear weapons and nuclear enrichment technology. Presently, there are very few international or domestic export controls that apply to AM's role in the nuclear industry, constituting an unmanaged proliferation pathway. Pre-existing export controls focus on general concepts and processes and do not consider specific nuances of various techniques that are categorized as additive manufacturing. To introduce legislation and controls that will be effective in monitoring proliferation pathways, one must investigate and characterize AM techniques and their nuclear applications. This paper categorizes and ranks 33 AM techniques based on their potential impact on the nuclear fuel cycle and the development of nuclear weapons. Through this method of characterization and categorization, export controls would address specific AM nuclear proliferation risks without disrupting the entire industry and fuel cycle. Additionally, legislation employing this method would identify loopholes in export controls using a holistic approach to managing and monitoring proliferation pathways.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2021

Surface Meteorological Station - Forks, WA (FKS) - Reviewed Data

A variety of instruments are used to measure various quantities related to meteorology, precipitation, and radiation near the Earth’s surface. Typically, a standard suite of instruments is deployed to monitor meteorological state variables.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparison of Modeled to Measured Spectra using MCNP and GADRAS to Benchmark and Contrast Modeling Limitations

The desire to improve nuclear material detection through portal monitors and other low resolution detectors has led to interest in benchmarking the performance of radiation transport codes. These codes can be used to generate a variety and quantity of spectra that may be cost prohibitive to measure directly. Particular characteristics of typical detection scenarios were isolated to compare the performance of radiation transport codes to laboratory experiments. These benchmark experiments were performed to validate simulations in a number of key areas. These experiments included high areal density configurations in both one- and three-dimensional configurations. In addition, off-angle measurements were conducted to investigate the impact of detector response assumptions on complex geometries, for example where an unknown source is not physically collocated with an apparent hot spot. Furthermore, by examining both simple shielding and backscatter configurations, isolation of the scatter emanating from the object and environmental background scatter contributions to the spectra could be elucidated. A series of experiments were performed in which the order of shielding layers and the thickness were evaluated to examine the ability of the simulations to address these variables. Experiments with increasing thickness of polyethylene around a neutron source also allows for examinations of the ability of the transport simulations to properly model n,γ reactions. Finally, depleted uranium (DU) measurements have more complicated spectra than the cobalt-60 and consequently allow for investigations into the ability of transport simulations to model self-shielding. In each case, the results of the experiments were compared to MCNP simulations to judge the performance of the code, as was done previously with GADRAS 18.7.9 simulations [7]. All of the benchmark measurements were taken with a liquid nitrogen cooled 140% high purity germanium (HPGe) detector with a bismuth collimator that had the front tin filter removed. The measurement location and detector configuration were subsequently used for all experimental configurations. The remainder of this report details the experimental measurements, Section 2 and the MCNP model, Section 3. Comparisons between the experimental results and MCNP-generated spectra are performed, Section 4. Section 5 compares the results obtained with MCNP with the previously reported results obtained with GADRAS [2]. Finally, Section 6 presents the conclusions.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Search for Lepton Number Violation in 136 Xe and 134 Xe Decay

The EXO-200/nEXO group at Stony Brook University led by Krishna Kumar searched for neutrinoless double beta decay of 134 Xe and 136 Xe via participation in the final phase of the EXO-200 experiment and calibration pre-R&D for the next generation nEXO concept. On EXO-200, we carried out an improved analysis in the search for 134 Xe using data from Phase-II running. On nEXO, we completed a paper on our first phase of measurements demonstrating the feasibility of using photoelectricity from a gold photocathode to produce controlled amounts of charged clusters in liquid xenon. This has set the stage to develop a new test stand to evaluate the stability of a gold photocathode in order to explore the sensitivity of this method to monitor long electron lifetimes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Surface Meteorological Station - Astoria, OR (AST) - Raw Data

A variety of instruments are used to measure various quantities related to meteorology, precipitation, and radiation near the Earth’s surface. Typically, a standard suite of instruments is deployed to monitor meteorological state variables.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Surface Meteorological Station - Forks, WA (FKS) - Raw Data

A variety of instruments are used to measure various quantities related to meteorology, precipitation, and radiation near the Earth’s surface. Typically, a standard suite of instruments is deployed to monitor meteorological state variables.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Surface Meteorological Station - North Bend, OR (OTH) - Raw Data

A variety of instruments are used to measure various quantities related to meteorology, precipitation, and radiation near the Earth’s surface. Typically, a standard suite of instruments is deployed to monitor meteorological state variables.

17 WIND ENERGY↗